Predators?

Here are two photos that don't fit into any of my specific projects.


A funnel-weaving grass spider ignores a caterpillar that has fallen into the web. Not vibrating enough? Too big to handle (unlikely, I've seen them grab big grasshoppers)? Some kind of caterpillar defensive chemical? I did not supply the prey this time, the scene is how I found it.


This is the fruiting body of a fungus called Claviceps, growing on a wild grass fruit. I have not encountered this before, so it's pretty exciting. The most famous member of the Genus is C. purpurea which feeds on rye and other cultivated grasses, and causes the disease Ergotism. Among other unpleasant symptoms such as gangrene, ergotism sufferers may experience mania, psychosis, and hallucinations. Some writers have blamed various historical outbreaks of mass hysteria on the fungal disease.

Species of Least Concern, Episode 4

Episode 4 features my first correction/clarification (of many, I hope) plus our old friend the freshwater bryozoan, a medicinal herb, and a mysterious flying creature. That leads to some musing about animal phobias, and then I talk about a Strange Pest Control Product. All this for the low price of twelve minutes of your time!

Thanks for listening, "like" the podcast on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SpeciesOfLeastConcernPodcast

Thanks to those of you who bring me weird things, ask me good questions, post pictures of unknown creatures on facebook, and harp on me to be correct. Without you this episode would have been very short.